CHEYENNE - A Lander-area resident with a background in ranching, business and rangeland ecology has been chosen to head a newly created board charged with handing out state grants to improve wildlife habitat.

Bob Budd will become executive director of the Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Account Board pending a formal board vote Oct. 7 in Casper, officials announced Tuesday.

"I'm very excited to start, and I think it's an opportunity to do some things for our state that will last long into the future," Budd said. "I'm thrilled. It's a tremendous board, wonderful people, and I'm really excited to work with them and for them."

The seven-member board is authorized to spend earnings from a $15 million trust fund to improve or maintain wildlife habitat and preserve open space. The board and trust fund were created by one of the most high-profile bills of the 2005 session, which was enacted into law March 8.

"We were tremendously impressed with his qualifications," said Delaine Roberts, chairman of the wildlife trust board, in a release. "He presents himself well, and we expect a lot of good things from him."

Budd, 49, will earn about $80,000 a year, according to Ryan Lance, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Dave Freudenthal who has been assisting start-up of the board.

For the last 12 years, Budd has worked for The Nature Conservancy as director of land management and project manager for the Red Canyon and Winchester ranches near Lander.

The Nature Conservancy, founded in 1951 and based in Virginia, has about 1 million members and works to protect land and water across the world.

Budd also worked 15 years as executive secretary and executive director of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association and serves as a volunteer for Cheyenne Frontier Days.

A Republican, Budd holds bachelor's degrees from the University of Wyoming in agricultural business and animal science and a master's degree in range management. He has served as president of the Society for Range Management and facilitator of the Wyoming Greater Sage Grouse Conservation Plan Working Group and the Wyoming Bighorn-Domestic Sheep Working Group.

"I think it's wonderful. I have tremendous respect for Bob," said Marion Loomis, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association. "I think he's very thoughtful. He certainly knows Wyoming. … He's familiar with what has built the state of Wyoming, and I think he will bring a very level-headed direction to the wildlife trust fund board."

Jackson resident and former Teton County Commissioner Sandy Shuptrine said she was excited to hear about Budd's selection.

"I know that he's had a strong interest in natural resources and maintaining the habitat in particular that supports healthy wildlife populations, so I would feel encouraged about that," she said.

Budd's salary and that of potential support staff will come from a direct state appropriation of $300,000, which was also included in the legislation.

He was chosen from a field of about 33 applicants, Lance said.

Capital bureau reporter Robert W. Black can be reached at (307) 632-1244 or robert.black@casperstartribune.net.